Hearing the Unheard, Seeing the Unseen. A Man’s Journey to Better Understanding the Challenges Facing Australia in the 21st Century.

If we are not the best we can be, what do we have to do to make us so? As Chief of Army, David was forced to ask these questions of the Australian Army and it has set him on a course to urge reform not only for the Australian Defence Force but for Australian society as well.

Few would expect a tough-as-nails Chief of Army to be recognised internationally for his commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion. But when former Lieutenant-General David Morrison ordered misbehaving troops to ‘get out’ if they couldn’t accept women as equals, his video went viral and he started a cultural shift that has changed Australia’s armed forces forever. Since then, the number of women joining the army has grown by two per cent and the culture is more accepting of racial, ethnic and sexual diversity. In 2014, David was invited to speak at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, sharing the stage with US Secretary of State John Kerry and actor and activist Angelina Jolie, and arguing that militaries that exclude women ‘do nothing to distinguish the soldier from the brute’. David retired in 2015 after 36 years in the Australian Army, and four years as its Chief, but he continues his commitment as a champion of human rights in his new role as the Chair of the Diversity Council Australia.

About the Kyle Oration

The Kyle Oration is a free public lecture presented by the McCusker Centre for Citizenship and the Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA and the Rotary Club of Perth. It was established in 1980 to mark the life and works of the late Air Chief Marshall Sir Wallace Kyle who was Governor of Western Australia from 1975-1980.

About the McCusker Centre for Citizenship

The McCusker Centre for Citizenship aims to create critical thinkers and community leaders, provide students with experiences that will engage them in a lifelong commitment to contributing to the community and be the focal point for engagement with University students, staff and alumni and the not-for-profit sector.